Benefits and Costs of Debt : The Dose Makes the Poison

Government debt has risen substantially in emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs) since the global financial crisis. The current environment of low global interest rates and weak growth may appear to mitigate concerns about elevated debt...

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Main Authors: Kose, M. Ayhan, Ohnsorge, Franziska, Sugawara, Naotaka
Format: Working Paper
Language:English
Published: World Bank, Washington, DC 2020
Subjects:
Online Access:http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/648141582830563001/Benefits-and-Costs-of-Debt-The-Dose-Makes-the-Poison
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/33409
id okr-10986-33409
recordtype oai_dc
spelling okr-10986-334092022-09-20T00:12:20Z Benefits and Costs of Debt : The Dose Makes the Poison Kose, M. Ayhan Ohnsorge, Franziska Sugawara, Naotaka DEBT SUSTAINABILITY FISCAL POLICY FISCAL TRENDS FISCAL BALANCE GOVERNMENT DEBT PRIVATE DEBT FISCAL POSITION EMERGING MARKET ECONOMIES Government debt has risen substantially in emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs) since the global financial crisis. The current environment of low global interest rates and weak growth may appear to mitigate concerns about elevated debt levels. Considering currently subdued investment, additional government borrowing might also appear to be an attractive option for financing growth-enhancing initiatives such as investment in human and physical capital. However, history suggests caution. Despite low interest rates, debt was on a rising trajectory in half of EMDEs in 2018. In addition, the cost of rolling over debt can increase sharply during periods of financial stress and result in financial crises; elevated debt levels can limit the ability of governments to provide fiscal stimulus during downturns; and high debt can weigh on investment and long-term growth. Hence, EMDEs need to strike a careful balance between taking advantage of low interest rates and avoiding the potentially adverse consequences of excessive debt accumulation. 2020-03-04T16:54:28Z 2020-03-04T16:54:28Z 2020-02 Working Paper http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/648141582830563001/Benefits-and-Costs-of-Debt-The-Dose-Makes-the-Poison http://hdl.handle.net/10986/33409 English Policy Research Working Paper;No. 9166 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper
repository_type Digital Repository
institution_category Foreign Institution
institution Digital Repositories
building World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection World Bank
language English
topic DEBT SUSTAINABILITY
FISCAL POLICY
FISCAL TRENDS
FISCAL BALANCE
GOVERNMENT DEBT
PRIVATE DEBT
FISCAL POSITION
EMERGING MARKET ECONOMIES
spellingShingle DEBT SUSTAINABILITY
FISCAL POLICY
FISCAL TRENDS
FISCAL BALANCE
GOVERNMENT DEBT
PRIVATE DEBT
FISCAL POSITION
EMERGING MARKET ECONOMIES
Kose, M. Ayhan
Ohnsorge, Franziska
Sugawara, Naotaka
Benefits and Costs of Debt : The Dose Makes the Poison
relation Policy Research Working Paper;No. 9166
description Government debt has risen substantially in emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs) since the global financial crisis. The current environment of low global interest rates and weak growth may appear to mitigate concerns about elevated debt levels. Considering currently subdued investment, additional government borrowing might also appear to be an attractive option for financing growth-enhancing initiatives such as investment in human and physical capital. However, history suggests caution. Despite low interest rates, debt was on a rising trajectory in half of EMDEs in 2018. In addition, the cost of rolling over debt can increase sharply during periods of financial stress and result in financial crises; elevated debt levels can limit the ability of governments to provide fiscal stimulus during downturns; and high debt can weigh on investment and long-term growth. Hence, EMDEs need to strike a careful balance between taking advantage of low interest rates and avoiding the potentially adverse consequences of excessive debt accumulation.
format Working Paper
author Kose, M. Ayhan
Ohnsorge, Franziska
Sugawara, Naotaka
author_facet Kose, M. Ayhan
Ohnsorge, Franziska
Sugawara, Naotaka
author_sort Kose, M. Ayhan
title Benefits and Costs of Debt : The Dose Makes the Poison
title_short Benefits and Costs of Debt : The Dose Makes the Poison
title_full Benefits and Costs of Debt : The Dose Makes the Poison
title_fullStr Benefits and Costs of Debt : The Dose Makes the Poison
title_full_unstemmed Benefits and Costs of Debt : The Dose Makes the Poison
title_sort benefits and costs of debt : the dose makes the poison
publisher World Bank, Washington, DC
publishDate 2020
url http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/648141582830563001/Benefits-and-Costs-of-Debt-The-Dose-Makes-the-Poison
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/33409
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